Best Sound/Sound Design, Play Jay Stevens Bleacher Bums Valparaiso Theatrical Company John Wotkun I’ll Be Back Before Midnight Beatniks on Conkey Justin Treasure One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Crown Point Community Theatre Angie Lowe, Keith Underwood Sylvia L’arc en Ciel Theatre Group Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge Hammond Community Theatre

Best Featured Actress, Play Gail A. Komer as Rumplestilskin Happily Ever Once Upon Crown Point Community Theatre Mary Walton DeBoer as Vivien Leigh Orson’s Shadow Chicago Street Theatre Kathleen Dominiak-Treasure as Germaine Picasso at the Lapin Agile Crown Point Community Theatre Donna Rowland as Mrs. Shandig Runner Stumbles Genesius Guild Darlene Joiner as Cassandra Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Hammond Community Theatre

Best Principal Actor, Play Earle Howe as Lawrence Wargrave And Then There Were None Hammond Community Theatre Will Kalinak as Dr. Thomas Stockmann Enemy of the People 4th Street Theater Mark Baer as Macbeth Macbeth Gary Shakespeare Company Hal Kilgore as Randle McMurphy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Crown Point Community Theatre Dustin Ritchea as Kenneth Tynan Orson’s Shadow Chicago Street Theatre

Best Featured Actor, Play Steve Zana as Marvin Bleacher Bums Valparaiso Theatrical Company Matt Stinnett as Stephen Spettigue Charley’s Aunt 4th Street Theater Rip Johnson as George Willowby I’ll Be Back Before Midnight Beatniks on Conkey David Pera as Donny Lieutenant of Inishmore Chicago Street Theatre Scot PJ MacDonald as Dale Harding One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Crown Point Community Theatre Tim Gleason as Caliban The Tempest Chicago Street Theatre Earle Howe as Jacob Marley Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge Hammond Community Theatre

Best Principal Actor, Musical Chris Gierymski as Baladeer/Oswald Assassins Crown Point Community Theatre Jacob West as Emcee Cabaret Dunes Summer Theatre Darren Serhal as Gomez Addams The Addams Family Memorial Opera House Robert Binford as Edwin, the Defendant Trial by Jury Crown Point Community Theatre Zachary Gipson as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein Young Frankenstein Chicago Street Theatre

Best Featured Actor, Musical Aaron Davis as Leon Czologosz Assassins Crown Point Community Theatre Bob Clark as John Wilkes Booth Assassins Crown Point Community Theatre Jordan Chaddock as Sam Byck Assassins Crown Point Community Theatre Craig Golbesky as Igor Young Frankenstein Chicago Street Theatre Scott Hayes as The Monster Young Frankenstein Chicago Street Theatre

Are you ready to be entertained? Do you need a good laugh or a moment to ponder?

The region will shine with the glow of the spotlight as you sit back, laugh, and awe at the amazing talents of local actors.

Theatre companies from across NWI will present short shows or excerpts of longer ones in a showcase format. In the lobby, you’ll find booths from each of the theatres with information on their upcoming shows, classes, auditions, and volunteer opportunities. Audience members will have a chance to win some great door prizes as well!

Excerpts include: Little Shop of Horrors, Footloose the musical, Lilies of the Field, MakeShift Up Improv, Macbeth, An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein, The Who’s Tommy, and more!

Join us Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 2:30 pm at Chesterton High School for this FREE THEATRE FESTIVAL.

NIETF is hosting a series of plays from our member theaters at the Indiana Dunes State Park on Thursday nights throughout the summer.

Bring a beach chair or blanket and join us on the west side of the state park pavilion at 7 pm each of the following Thursdays. In case of inclement weather, Park Plays will be held at Wilson Shelter in the picnic area.

Thank you for your interest in a NIETF Scholarship. The Scholarship is open to residents of Lake, Porter or LaPorte Counties in Indiana. The applicant must be a high school senior or undergraduate student. The applicant must show proof of having worked in or on a production with a NIETF Theatre (Full, Associate, or School Member Theatres are eligible). Applicant must choose or have chosen as a major one of the following fields of study: Visual & Performing Arts, Dance, Theatrical Design, Dramatic Arts, Fine Arts, Music, Theatre Arts. Scholarship applications including this form and the required supplemental information (reference letters, transcript) are due June 15, 2016. Scholarship award winner will be announced at Theatrepalooza, August 7, 2016 at Chesterton High School. For the application, click here

The Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theatre Foundation is proud to announce that Valparaiso has been selected to host the Chicagoland This is My Brave live event in May 2016. This is My Brave is a live storytelling event where real people tell real stories about their real life mental health issues. Billed as #StorytellingSavesLives, This is My Brave seeks to remove the stigma of mental illness, open a dialog, and create opportunities for people to #LiveBrave and thoughtfully engage around the topic of mental health. For complete information click here.